NHL warns Bruins’ Brad Marchand to stop licking opponents

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The NHL has told Brad Marchand to stop licking opponents or the Boston Bruins forward will face punishment.

Senior vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell spoke to Marchand and Bruins general manager Don Sweeney on Saturday about Marchand’s actions against Tampa Bay a night earlier. Marchand licked Lightning forward Ryan Callahan during Game 4 of their second-round series after appearing to do the same to Toronto’s Leo Komarov earlier in the playoffs.

The league says Marchand has been put on notice that his actions are unacceptable and that similar behavior in the future will be dealt with through supplemental discipline. Marchand could be fined or suspended by the NHL if he continues to lick players.

After the game, an overtime loss that put Boston down 3-1 in the series, Marchand said Callahan punched him in the face four times and kept getting close, adding it was “nothing big.”